The moment Qin Jie saw the Phantom Corrupted Monk, his heart sank.
After all, only by defeating the Phantom Corrupted Monk could one go to Fountainhead Palace, but now the Phantom Corrupted Monk had appeared here. Could it be that none of them had ever been to Fountainhead Palacebefore?
But after Qin Jie clearly saw the Phantom Corrupted Monk's appearance, he finally put aside his doubts.
Because the Broken Monk at this time clearly didn't look right.
After all, Qin Jie had never seen the Phantom Corrupted Monk with a centipede before.
The Broken Monk was a bug attachment, with a centipede inside her body. This was also the reason why Qin Jie had to obtain the Immortal Severance, as only by defeating the Broken Monk could he enter Fountainhead Palace.
At this moment, the Broken Monk's neck was already bent, and a huge centipede had replaced her original head, yet she was draped in a beautiful robe, looking exceptionally strange.
The Phantom Corrupted Monk's abnormality indicated that the previous Phantom Corrupted Monk should have already been defeated. This centipede-headed Broken Monk should be a later added illusion.
Only by killing her could he go to Fountainhead Palace.
Without further ado, Qin Jie crouched low, activated Shadow of Concealment, and simultaneously used the Wu Shou's reward.
The next moment, an inexplicable pain and coldness swept through Qin Jie's entire body. He gained the Wu Shou's buff, his attack power increased by an additional 10%, and when decapitating, it would additionally carry 15% attack power and ignore the opponent's defense.
Qin Jie's Sword Shadow went straight forward, while Qin Jie's Clone seized the opportunity to flank from behind. The Phantom Corrupted Monk in front of the stone cave, upon seeing the Sword Shadow, immediately swung her huge Naginata without hesitation, and the centipede on her neck simultaneously bit towards the Clone.
This centipede was an illusion and therefore would not bring the Phantom Corrupted Monk the Immortal characteristic, so she only needed to be defeated.
Under Qin Jie's control, the Sword Shadow raised its sword to Parry. Both were phantoms and neither was as strong as the original, but the Phantom Corrupted Monk was still a cut above the Sword Shadow, which was sent flying a great distance.
Qin Jie made his move.
In an instant, a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, attaching itself to Qin Jie's sword sheath. Threads of electricity surged, indicating that Qin Jie's sword sheath was fully charged.
Qin Jie suddenly drew his sword. The lightning danced like a wild python, directly ravaging the Phantom Corrupted Monk's entire body. Although the phantom would not be paralyzed, the damage was still fully received at this moment.
And this lightning was merely the prelude to the decapitation.
Qin Jie's target was naturally her head.
Headless Divine Descent + decapitation figurine + surprise attack from Shadow of Concealment.
The speed of this sword strike was terrifying, even Qin Jie felt a momentary daze; he couldn't even clearly see his own sword-wielding hand. This feeling was as if the Crimson King had activated Time Erasure.
The sword's edge sliced across the Phantom Corrupted Monk's neck, directly severing both her head and the centipede.
Decapitation.
This strike directly emptied the Phantom Corrupted Monk's health bar. She let out an unwilling wail, then dissipated into specks of light in the air.
Defeated Phantom Corrupted Monk.
Obtained 2.9% World Source.
Obtained Diary Fragment · 3.
A blue treasure chest appeared on the ground, which Qin Jie picked up casually.
After that, it was time to open the stone door of the stone cave.
Qin Jie walked forward, and with a forceful push of his hands, the stone door of the cave entrance was easily opened by him.
Inside the cave was an extremely spacious area, and whistling cold wind blew directly onto Qin Jie's face.
After passing through the passage, Qin Jie saw a vast circular clearing. Above the clearing was a large hole, with countless dark roots hanging down. Only a few rays of light leaked through the gaps in the roots.
Below the roots was the palanquin to Fountainhead Palace, and in front of the palanquin was an offering table, on which lay a stone emitting a peculiar fragrance.
It was the Stone of Binding.
The appearance of this stone meant one thing: someone had indeed gone to Fountainhead Palace. Qin Jie's conjecture was completely confirmed.
Not only that, but on the offering table, Qin Jie noticed a piece of paper pressed under the Stone of Binding.
It read:
"This world cannot be reset. I don't yet know the specific reason, but I am now preparing to go to Fountainhead Palace to investigate."
"Latercomer, if you see this note, then I should already be dead."
"However, since you have also come to this world, then we are likely to die together."
"Hahaha, how wonderful."
The note was filled with sarcasm and contained no useful information.
At the beginning, Qin Jie had categorized the three people who entered earlier as Calamity A, Unlucky B, and Unlucky C.
This should be Unlucky B's handwriting. Below it, there was also Unlucky C's handwriting.
"Paradise, I ****, why would you send me to such a suicidal world? Good thing the palanquin cave door wasn't tightly shut, I just ran in."
"Isn't it just not completing the mission properly? Why send me to such an abnormal world? Damn it, I don't want to die."
"This world is completely insane, and Paradise still wants me to solve this world's anomaly. How is this any different from letting me die? Haven't you seen those deranged villagers outside the door? That kind of thing isn't something a LV6 like me can handle."
--- This seems to be Unlucky C's handwriting.
Neither of these two revealed much information; most of it was emotional venting. However, Qin Jie noticed that in Unlucky C's words, his mission for this time was revealed.
That was to resolve the anomaly of this world.
Qin Jie's mission this time was to investigate the anomaly of this world. Compared to resolving it, the difficulties Qin Jie faced were considerably fewer than the other party's.
Both were LV6 Contractors, so why was the other party's mission difficulty so much higher than Qin Jie's?
Was it because the other party hadn't completed their mission properly?
If that were the case, even Paradise wouldn't be able to directly erase them, but would instead choose to throw them into such a dangerous world, then give them a high-difficulty mission before erasing them.
It seems Paradise is also bound by some rules and cannot do things that do not conform to the regulations.
After confirming that the Stone of Binding still carried a peculiar fragrance, Qin Jie relaxed and then walked forward into the palanquin.
Inside the palanquin, it was pitch black, and the light was completely blocked. For some reason, Qin Jie always felt inexplicably crowded around him, as if something was wriggling in the darkness, pressing against Qin Jie.
Even though Qin Jie couldn't see his surroundings, he could still feel a chilling malice seemingly staring at him.
But after Qin Jie drew the devouring abyss, this feeling of being squeezed immediately vanished without a trace, as if it had never existed.
The surroundings returned to a state of tranquility; nothing had happened. Qin Jie, however, showed extreme patience at this moment. He sat cross-legged on the spot, calming his mind, as if merging with the darkness.
After an unknown period, Qin Jie felt a swaying sensation around him, much like the slight weightlessness one feels in an elevator.
It seemed the people from Fountainhead Palace had come to pick him up.